The invention relates to a wind deflector arrangement for a motor vehicle roof having a roof opening that can be closed by means of a sliding cover and having a wind deflector that is arranged along the front edge of the roof opening and can be pivoted around an axis located transversely to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, said wind deflector having a body that can be swung out by spring power when the sliding cover is opened and can be swung in when the sliding cover is closed by a cam that is displaced along with movement of the cover and runs against at least one lever arm that is drivingly connected to the body of the wind deflector.
In the case of the known wind deflector arrangements of this type, the wind deflector body consists of a sheet steel stamping (U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,194), of a sheet steel stamping with molded plastic parts for the connection of the swivel arms, inserted at distances from the lateral edges (German Offenlegungsschrift No. 31 37 191), of a molded plastic part (U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,085) or of a molded sheet-metal part having a molded plastic part placed onto it in order to achieve the desired wall thickness (U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,962). The known solutions have incommon that the manufacturing of the wind deflector body is relatively costly and especially requires expensive tools which as a rule have to be newly procured for each car model because of the varying dimensions of the wind deflector.
It is a primary objective of the wind deflector arrangement in accordance with the present invention to provide a wind deflector arrangement that permits a less costly manufacturing of the wind deflector arrangement even when the body of the wind deflector must have a relatively large thickness in view of favorable flow conditions.
According to preferred embodiments of the invention, this objective is achieved by the fact that the body of the wind deflector consists at least partly of an unfinished profiled part, each lateral edge of which is covered by a respective end piece that, at the same time, forms a part of the wind deflector driving arrangement.
By means of this development, it is achieved that the wind deflector body, at least partly, is formed of sections of an appropriate length of a profiled part that can be furnished as running length stock (such as indefinite length extruded strips).
The manufacturing of profiled parts of this type is not very costly. Profiled parts, in a simple way, permit an adaptation to wind deflector widths that differ from one vehicle model to the next because only the length of the section must be changed. Any profile that may be desired on the basis of flow conditions can be produced at minimal cost. The end pieces cover the normally unsightly lateral edges of the profiled part and thus form a pleasant lateral end. Since the end pieces also represent a part of the driving arrangement and, for example, have actuating grooves into which a driving pin at the free end of the swivel arm engages, the manufacturing costs on the whole are reduced further.
In a further development of the invention, the wind deflector body may advantageously consist of an extruded profile of a light metal, such as aluminum. The wind deflector body may also be composed of a light-metal extruded profiled part and an additional component made of plastic or rubber extending in the longitudinal direction of the wind deflector. This latter component may advantageously also be a profiled part.
In the interest of a simple and robust connection between the end pieces and the profiled part, the end pieces preferably carry projections that extend laterally toward the inside and are slid into a complementary recess of the profiled part. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, bearing points for stationary lateral hinge shafts are also provided at the projections of the end pieces around which the wind deflector can be swivelled. In this manner, the assembly is simplified further. For the fastening of the wind deflector body, it is advantageous to provide a cover rail that can be mounted at a component that is fixed at the roof and may, for example, be screwed to the latter. The hinge shafts are advantageously fastened at the cover rail. An especially compact wind deflector installation unit is obtained when, at each of the two end piece projections, two bearing points are shaped onto said projections that are spaced away from one another in the direction of the shafts of the hinges and when, in each case, between the two bearing points, a torsion spring is fitted on the hinge shafts which on one side supports itself at the wind deflector body or the end piece projection and on the other side at the cover rail.
In addition, a bearing body for supporting the wind deflector in a central area may be mounted at the profiled part. Advantageously, the bearing body is slid into the profiled part while forming an interlocking shape connection with said profiled part. This bearing body may interact with a central shaft fastened at the cover rail.
Corresponding to a further modified embodiment of the invention, the wind deflector body consists of a sheet-metal strip and a plastic or rubber strip developed as a profiled part that is connected with it. In this case, the sheet-metal strip, advantageously, laterally juts out over the profiled plastic or rubber part, and the end pieces are placed on the protruding ends of the sheet-metal strip.
The end pieces may overlap the lateral edges of the profiled part in order to cover possible tolerance-caused gaps between the end pieces and the lateral edges of the profiled part.
In order to avoid rattling noises, the driving arrangement may advantageously have a driving pin that consists of a noise-muffling material. Instead or in addition, an actuating slot interacting with the driving pin may, at least in the area where the driving pins rest when the wind deflector is tilted out, be provided with a noise-muffling lining.
In the case of sliding roofs, means are provided as a rule that permit a vertical adjustment of the cover with respect to the fixed roof parts. In a further development of the invention, the cam interacting with the swivel arm is connected with a component that is not influenced by a vertical adjustment of the sliding cover and that may, for example, be a front guide shoe support. The result is that a vertical adjustment of the sliding cover has no influence on the actuation of the wind deflector.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, plural embodiments in accordance with the present invention.